How to Repot Houseplants

I have several flower arrangements from my mother-in-law’s funeral that came in some nice planters. I am thinking I should rearrange them so they don’t constantly remind my husband of his mother’s funeral. From what I can tell without taking the arrangements apart, the planters are metal, lined with a plastic liner and filled with potting soil covered with some type of moss. The plants are fairly closely packed. I would like to keep at least some of the planters however, I’m worried that they won’t survive because the planters don’t have any drainage. Also, I have a parlor palm (10+ years old) in a fairly large pot that I could transfer some of the plants to, although, every plant I have ever planted with it in the past has died. The plants from the funeral include prayer plants, dumb cane, parlor palm, english ivy, peace lily, heart shaped philodendron, and a few I can’t identify. The small wooden planter contains the english ivy, a geranium, and a begonia in individual plastic pots, so they will have to be transplanted. Also, the 10 year old parlor palm and a 10 year old heart shaped philodendron are the only houseplants I have ever been able to keep alive for longer than a few months. What would you recommend I do?

Hi Kat,

I definitely recommend taking the plants out of the dish gardens they came in and planting them in new small pots that have drainage holes in the bottom. You can use a 4″ pot to be safe from over watering. If you put the plants into a 6″ pots, be very careful with your water; the soil will stay wet for a long time. Placing different plants in the same container will only be successful if the plants have the same watering, feeding, and lighting needs. You can read about each of your plants in the Popular HousePlant Section of the website and learn their specific requirements. Hope this helps.